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J. B. HINOHMAN & A. W. HILLE. GAB COUPLING- No. 493,268. Patented Mar.14,1893.

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STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES B. HINOHMAN AND ADOLPH W. I-IILLE, OF DENVER, COLORADO; SAID HILLEASSIGNOR TO SAID HINOH-MAN.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 493,268, dated March14, 1893. Application filed July 5, 1892. Serial No. 439,024- (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern..-

Be it known that we, JAMES B. HINOHMAN and ADOLPH W. HILLE, citizens ofthe United States of America, residing at Denver, in the county ofArapahoe and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Link-Guides for Coupling Cars; and we do declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part ofthis specification.

Our invention relates to a mechanical device for coupling cars whichinvention consists of a link guide or fork, said guide or fork isoperated by two horizontal bars fastened to and under each end of car,in conjunction with a handle fastened to each end of said bars at eachcorner of the car.

The objects of our invention are, first, to provide a safe, reliable andquick Way to couple cars from outside of track; second, to provide ameans for coupling cars, whereby the lives of the trainmen are notendangered, and at the same time to retain the standard or ordinarydrawhead with the loose link and pin; third, to provide a means forguiding the link in any direction sidewise or up or down so that any twocars to be coupled, where the draw heads meet on an even line, or wherethe drawheads to be coupled to, are to one side or higher or lower thanthe drawhead containing the link, can be coupled without enteringbetween the cars. We obtain these objects by the mechanism illustratedin the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective Viewof guidefork, showing guide-fork hanging under the end of the car whennot in use. Fig. 2 is a View showing the link raised up by the guideforkreadyto enter a drawhead that is higher than the drawhead containing thelink. Fig. 3 is a view showing the link turned to one side by the use ofthe guide-fork ready to enter a drawhead which is located to one sidefrom the drawhead containing the link. Fig. 4 is a detailed view of theguide-fork showing the link rest.

Similarletters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

The upper iron bar is designated by letter A which is fastened by ironplates B B shown in Fig. 4, to the bottom of drawhead beams O 0 shown inFig. 1, bar A being secured at each corner of car E, with long armbrackets D D. Bar A must be sufficiently loose in brackets D D and ironplates B B to permit it to turn readily. Bar A is connected at each endto handles F Fwith loose .rivets G G and in the center to guide-forkhandle -L with rivet I. The lower iron bar J in center at R is linkedaround guide-fork handle L and connected at each end to handles F F,with loose rivets K K about four inches from end where bar A is fastenedto handles F F leav-- ing about four inches Space between bars A and J.

The link guide or guide-forkH as shown in Fig.4. is made of bariron andbent in center so as to make it into a horseshoe or fork shape, with aspace between the tines MMfrom four to five inches; both sides or tinesM M are then bent forward so as to form a right angle, leaving samespace of four to five inches between at ends of tines M M, between thesetines M M there is fastened an iron bar forming link rest N, the ends offorks or tines M Mcxtending from one half to one (1) inch above linkrest N, said one half to one inch projection of tines M M above link-rest N- forming lugs O O, which serve. to keep the link from slidingoff from link rest N while being guided in the difierent directions toenter a drawhead. Lugs O O, are beveled from link rest outward, whichserves to readily catch the link; the link rest N is from four to fiveinches wide, which is sufficient space to permit any link to lie flat onthe link rest N, in the position necessary to enter a drawhead.Guide-fork handle L is attached to tines M M, thence passed through linkR in iron bar J, the other end of handle L is fastened to irod bar Awith loose rivet I, as heretofore set forth.

It will be seen and readily understood from the above description anddrawings that the link guide or guide-fork H can be easily operated bythe trainmen.

Having first placed the pin in the drawhead of the car to be coupled toin the ordinary slanting way, as it is usually placed by trainmen, allthat is necessary to be done is for the trainman to take hold of handleF, at whichever side of car he happens to be on, and by lifting ofhandle F, in the direction away from end of car, thelink guide orguidefork H is brought into a horizontal position and catches the linkP, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, then by a few short motions of handle Fthe end of link P is pointed in the direction necessary to permit thelink to enter the drawhead in which the pin has previously been set; theconnection is thus made, the cars come together, and the coupling iscompleted, without the person making the coupling having entered betweenthe cars; the handle F is dropped, and the guide-fork H instantlydropsinto its regular position as shown in Fig. 1.

We are aware that prior to our invention mechanical devices have beenmade and em ployed for raising and lowering pins in drawheads and itmakes no difference in the use of the guide-fork whether the pin in thedrawhead to receive thelink is set in the usual slanting manner employedby traintnen as heretofore set out or whether the pin in any suchdrawhead is manipulated by any me chanical device.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The link guide or guide-fork H, in combination with handle L securedto iron bar A with rivet I, substantially as set forth.

2. The link guide or guide-fork H, in combination with handle L securedto iron barA with rivet I, and bar A secured to handles F F with rivetsG G, substantially as set forth.

3. The link guide or guide-fork H, in combination with handle L securedto iron barA with rivet I, handle L passing through link R in iron barJ, with bar J secured to handles F F with loose rivets K K,substantially as set forth.

4:. The link guide orguide fork II with link rest N, with beveled lugs OO, in combination with handle L secured to iron bar A with rivet I;handle L passing through link R in iron bar J, with bar J secured tohandle F F with loose rivets K K substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof we aifix our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

JAMES B. IIINGHMAN. ADOLPII \V. HILLE. Witnesses:

R. L. IIINCHMAN, ORLANDO C. MARsI-I.

